Conventional horizontal axis wind turbines employ two or three blades cantilevered out from a central axle. This axle in turn drives a generator through a step-up gearbox. Typically, the large blades of the turbine are substantially rigid, requiring sufficient strength to support the blades from the axle of the turbine. As the turbine is scaled up for large power generation, the blades become prohibitively heavy and costly. Because the blades are now very large, the turbine must be limited to relatively slow rotational speeds. Thus, either a large, high-torque, low-speed generator or a small, low-torque, high-speed generator with a large step-up gearbox must be employed to efficiently remove energy from the turbine. Both alternatives result in heavy, expensive equipment being mounted on the top of a tower with the turbine blades. The present invention describes an alternative design for a large wind turbine which will reduce the cost and weight of the power generating components, and therefore the overall cost of a large wind turbine.